Thomas corscaden



(No Model.)

T. OORSGADEN. SHELF BRAU-KET.

No. 493,484. Patented Mar. 14, 1893.-

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PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS CORSCADEN, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE STANLEYWORKS,

OF SAME PLACE.

SHELF-BRACKET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 493,484, dated March14, 1893.

Application filed August 22, 1892.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS CORSCADEN, of New Britain, in the county ofHartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement inShelf -Brackets; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken inconnection with accompanying drawings and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in

Figure 1, a perspective view of one form which a shelf-bracketconstructed in accordance with my invention may assume. Fig. 2, a viewshowing the body and the brace of the bracket in position for being puttogether, the former being shown in vertical section, and the latter inside elevation. Fig. 3, a similar view of the bracket when done. Fig. 4,a view of one of the modified forms which the bracket may assume.

My invention relatesto an improvement in sheet metal shelf-brackets theobject being to produce a simple, elegant, light and strong article.

With these ends in view, my invention consists in a sheet metal shelfbracket having certain details of construction, as will be hereinafterdescribed and pointed out in the claim.

In carrying out my invention,I take a suitable strip of sheet metal andbend it transversely between its ends, and preferably to one side of itslongitudinal center, to form a body which comprises the shelf-plate A,and the wall-plate A, of the bracket. It is true that the members whichI have designated as the shelf-plate A, and the wall-plate A, are notindependent of each other, but both form a part of the same strip ofmetal, but I have found it most convenient, and think it not misleading,to use the old terms. Before bending the metal, however, I provide itwith circular perforations a, for receiving screws or nails, by whichthe'bracket is put up, and by which the shelf is secured to it. Thesecircular perforations are disposed as in any ordinary bracket. I alsoperforate the strip to form rectangular openings at, which are a verylittle wider than the stock from which the brace B, is formed, is thick.I locate at Serial No. 443,697. (No model.)

least one of the said rectangular openings at or near the outer end ofthe shelf-plate A, and of the wall-plate A, and I also locate such aperforation at or near the inner end of one or of both of the saidplates. As shown by Fig. 2 of the drawings, the inner or adjacent endsof both of the said plates are provided with perforations a.

The brace B, of my improved bracket, I blank out from sheet metal ofsuitable thickness. Preferably it will be triangular in its generalform, as herein shown, but whatever its form, and ornamentalconfiguration, it will have two straight sides, I) and b, arranged at aright angle to each other, and respectively shorter than the shelf-plateA, and the wallplate A, of the body of the bracket, whereby the brace isadapted to be set into the said body in an edgewise position, or, inother words,in aplane at a right angle to the plane of the said plates.

I would here call attention to the fact that the metal in the body isutilized fiatwise, while the metal in the brace is utilized edgewise,the latter securing an economy of space.

In blank-ing out the brace, I leave upon its sides, I), b, lugs barranged in correspondence with the arrangement of the rectangularopenings a in the shelf and wall plates of the body, the said lugscorresponding in cross-section to the shape of the said openings.

In putting the said body and brace together, as thus formed, the bodymay be bent, as shown by Fig. 2, of the drawings, to an angle a fewdegrees greater than a right angle. This permits the brace to beinserted into it, and the lugs on one of its sides properly insertedinto their proper perforations in the body. After this, the body is bentso that its two plates or members will stand at a right angle to eachother, the off-setting member being thus closed down upon the lugs ofthe other side of the brace. After this, the lugs are riveted down,whereby the two parts of the bracket are firmly secured together. I donot,-

however, limit myself to bending the body as described, for it might forinstance, be first bent to form an angle a little less than a rightangle, and then sprung open to an angle a little greater than one ofninety degrees, to permit the brace to he jumped, so to speak, intoplace.

Under the construction described it will be observed that the brace isnot only connected at or near its ends with the shelf and wallplates,but also that it is firmly connected therewith Where the same cometogether, whereby it is not only held against lateral movement, butgreat structural rigidity is given to the bracket against downwardstrain, as will be apparent, and this is of course important in abracket made of sheet-metal, which would not otherwise have the rigidityrequired. This feature of construction last described is not possible inthose sheet metal brackets in which the brace has been used flatwiseinstead of edgewise, and simply connected at its ends with the ends ofthe shelf and wall-plates of the body of the bracket. Moreover, in myconstruction, the brace is presented edgewise instead of flatwise, ofthe metal, securing more room, and also making a better appearance.

The Shelf, and wall-plates being made in one piece of sheet-metal, form,as it were, a continuous wrought-metal back-bone or spine for thebracket, which is thus given not only great strength and rigidity, butalso an elegant and finished appearance.

Preferably I shall provide both the wall and shelf-plates withperforations located near their inner ends, and the brace withcorresponding lugs; but that construction is not absolutely essential,as a bracket might be constructed with only one lug at the bend of itsbody. In case one lug were used,it might be located in the position ofeither of the two inner lugs b 12 shown in Fig. 2, or it might bearranged as in Fig. 4:, in which the lug b is shown as located at themeeting points of the straight sides 12 and b, of the brace, and therectangular perforation at to receive it, located at the meeting pointsof the wall and shelf-plates of the body. This construction shown byFig. 4, would be agood construction, and one favoring a readyassemblance of the parts. I would, therefore, have it understood, that Ido not limit myself to the exact construction shown and described, buthold myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairlyfall within the spirit and scope of my invention. I am aware, however,that a sheet-metal sh elf-bracket is not broadly new, as beforesuggested, and that it is not new to secure a brace within the body ofthe bracket by furnishing the latter with perforations, and the formerwith corresponding retaining lugs, and further, that it is not new toarrange a brace in a plane at aright angle to the shelf and wall-plates,of a bracket in which the shelf and wall-plates and the brace are madeindependently, of cast-metal and joined together. I do not, therefore,broadly claim a bracket having its body and brace made of sheet metal,nor a bracket having its body and brace coupled together by means ofretaining lugs and perforations to receive the same, nor a brackethaving its brace arranged edgewise to its wall and shelf plates but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

As a new article of manufacture, the herein described sheet-metalshelf-bracket made in two pieces, and consisting of a sheet-metal bodyand a sheet-metal brace, the said body consisting of a long narrow stripof sheetmetal bent transversely between its ends at a right angle, toform the shelf-plate and the wall-plate of the bracket for which thesaid body constitutes a continuous, jointless wrought-metal spine orback-bone, both of the said plates being perforated at or near theirouter ends, and one or both of them being perforated at or near theirinner ends, and the said sheet-metal brace being located between thesaid Wall and shelf plates at a right angle to the planes thereof, andhaving two straight edges arranged at a right angle to each other, andfurnished with retaininglugs corresponding to the said perforations inthe said plates,

and the said perforations and lugs being relatively arranged so that theformer, or some of them, may only be inserted into the latter when thesaid wall-plate and shelf-plate of the body are at an angle to eachother greater than a right angle, and the said plates being alsofurnished with additional perforations for the attachment of the bracketto the wall, and for the attachment of a shelf to the bracket,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS CORSCADEN. Witnesses:

EDWARD (J. PIERCE, H. (J. CURTIS.

